My Clarity
by samiesimpson1
Summary: Marren Ives is a tribute from District 4. Cato Larek is a career from 2. She's stubborn, arrogant, and fierce. He's headstrong, cocky, and forceful. They despise each other, but there's always a fine line between love and hate. CatoxOC


_"You are the piece of me I wish I didn't need. _

_Chasing relentlessly, still fight and I don't know why. _

_If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy? _

_If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?"_

* * *

The rumbling of the five o'clock train awakes me from my sleep, as it always does on Sundays. I flip off my turquoise comforter and hop out of my soft, feather bed. Quietly, I tiptoe over to my closet and pull out a blue and pink bikini.

The door to my bedroom slowly creaks open and my three year old sister timidly walks into my room, clutching a light pink blanket.

"Marren, where are you going?" she asks in her high pitched voice.

"I'm just going for a little swim, just don't tell Finn. Alright Lala?" I reply, using my nickname that perfectly describes her personality.

"When will you be back? I'll miss you when you're gone," Starla states.

"I'll be back soon. Just go to bed and I'll be there when you wake." I kiss the top of her forehead.

Starla turns around and stumbles back into her room.

Grabbing a towel and a pair of flip flops, I head out the door. My footsteps are light and my movements are quick, which enables me to sneak out the front door with ease. The walk to the shore is short, considering we live only a block away.

When I reach the beach, my whole body relaxes. The warm sand in between my toes and the whipping wind against my face always lightens the mood. I roll out my towel and lay on it. I sigh, taking a moment to slowly inhale the scent of the ocean water and drift off to sleep.

After about an hour of tanning I take off my sunglasses and throw them next to my towel. I stroll down towards the clear ocean water. When my feet feel the rush of the ocean, I run a few steps deeper and dive in. Floating on my back, I start to think about what I should do today.

A few minutes later, I hear a gong ring from the center of town. The gong only gets played when it's Reaping Day.

Shit. Today's Reaping Day? I completely forgot. I look up at the position of the sun and I can tell its about 9:45 The Reaping will start in fifteen minutes.

I dash home in my bathing suit, leaving my belongings at the beach. It doesn't matter, I'll be in the Capitol in a matter of hours, and when I return I'll be rich as could be. I can buy those things again.

My feet carry me quickly to the Victors' Village. I burst through the door, not caring whether someone hears me because Finn and Starla probably aren't home. Finnick has to be there early because he is a victor and mentor. He probably assumed I got up early to go to the training center. Finn knew I was going to volunteer, but I'm not sure how he felt about it.

I run up the stairs and into my room. I already had an outfit picked out, so I pull the light teal dress and silver gladiator sandals from my closet. I lay the attire on my bed and head into the bathroom to shower.

I let the shower heat up for a couple of seconds before I step in. The warm water feels good against my skin. I quickly rub the shampoo and conditioner through my hair. I clean my body off with soap. Then, I turn the water off and exit the shower. I dry off with a soft white towel, wrap it around my body, and open the door. I walk back into my room, and quickly unzip the dress. I pull the dress over my head and slide the sandals onto my feet at the same time. I grab a brush and carelessly brush my hair. I let my hair dry naturally because the humid District 4 air will dry it fast, and the running I will have to do to get to the Reaping on time will also speed the process. I don't bother to put on makeup. The people in my district aren't conceited enough to care about makeup, and I'm glad.

I leave my room and go down the stairs. I don't think about grabbing food. I just check the clock and see that I have one minute until ten. I'll probably be a few minutes late, considering the Victors' Village is not very close to the town square.

I rush through town. When I arrive at the reaping I quickly get my finger pricked and run off in the direction of the eighteen year old section.

I hurry over to my friend Cassandra and get there just in time to see our escort, Sephora Lanson, place her plump, turquoise hand into the girls bowl. As she draws out the paper, she smiles. Sephora unfolds the slip and reads in a high pitched, fake voice, "Lanie Cress!"

This is my chance. I need to be forceful. I have to show everyone that size doesn't decipher whether your strong or not. "I volunteer!" I shout. All heads turn to face me.

Swiftly, I make my way up to the stage. A little girl, who I assume is Lanie, stares at me with wide eyes. I arrogantly grin at her. When I'm finally all the way up to the stage, Sephora gives me and the rest of District 4 a toothy grin. "What is your name?" "Marren Ives," I speak clearly into the microphone with a smirk.

"Well aren't you lovely?" Sephora practically sings into the microphone.

I don't reply. I choose to glare at her instead. For a second I can see fear in her eyes, which makes me inwardly laugh. She coughs awkwardly and smiles.

"Our next brave tribute is," she reaches her fingers into the bowl, swirling her hand around, taking her time choosing a name.

"Roden Paller!"

A small boy, with pitch black hair timidly making his way to the stage. He takes practically forever, since he decided to stop after every step to let out another sob. My patience is running low, as always. I can't take this boy. He's a bloodbath, for sure.

When Roden finally gets to my side, Sephora proclaims, "The District 4 tributes of the 74th annual Hunger Games! Shake hands you two!"

Roden reaches for my hand, and I reluctantly reach back. The crowd cheers, mostly for me. I feel as if I projected myself well, but I can't be certain until I watch my reaping later.

The crowd slowly dies down as the peacekeepers nudge me forward. It's a short walk until we reach the Justice Building. There are peacekeepers guarding the doors, and they part to let us through.

The inside is exquisite. The walls, ceilings, and floor are a pearly white. The peacekeepers show me my room to wait for my visitors. A knock on the door interrupts my thoughts. My first visitor.

"Finn!" I screech and wrap my arms around his toned body.

Finnick is like a brother to me. When my mother and father passed away in a boating accident, Finnick, that year's Hunger Games winner, saw me starving to death and took me and my baby sister in. I then went to live in the Victors' Village with him. I've been there ever since.

Finn bends down to look me in the eye.

"Don't worry Mare, I'll be your mentor, so we can be together longer. Just be sure to come back home and get your own house in the Victors' Village."

I look up into his sea colored eyes. "I'm not worried. I can do this, I know it. Twelve years of training has to pay off for me, right?"

"Right," Finn assures as he lets go of me so the peacekeepers can pull him out of the room.

I sit on the sofa, playing with the blue tassels that dangle from the corner of the arm rest. After a few minutes, a knock comes on the wooden doors.

Cassandra rushes in and gives me a hug. We don't say a word for at least two minutes.

Cassie finally chokes out in a whisper, "Come home, Mare."

"I will," I reply just as the peacekeepers pull Cassie off of me.

I have no more visitors, so the peacekeepers tell me to follow them. They march me down a long, narrow corridor.

After a short walk, we reach a glass door. We walk out the door and to the train station. Sephora, Finn, Penny (our other mentor), and Roden are already waiting. The five of us enter the train.

I actually think I might pass out when I see the inside. It's amazing!

Before I get the chance to faint, Sephora screeches, "Everyone! Please have a seat so that we can discuss the schedule and housing arrangements for the train ride to the Capitol!"

I grab a seat next to Finn, but unfortunately Roden squeezes into the seat next to me. This kid is weak, and he'll just be another thing to provoke my temper.

"Let's go watch the Reapings!" Sephora proclaims after she describes the schedule.

We all make our way to the couch and grab a seat. Finn hands me and Roden a pen and notepad.

"Take notes now and throughout the rest of your time before the games. Study them every night and keep a profile on each person," Finn advises.

I nod and Sephora turns the television on.

District 1 appears first. The girl is a beauty, with blonde hair and striking green eyes. She doesn't look very dangerous, though. I think her name is Glimmer. The boy, Marvel, is tall, and looks very strong. He has dirty blonde hair and emerald eyes. Marvel volunteers, and he walks up to the stage with pride.

In District 2, a small but scary girl, Clove, volunteers and stands at the stage proudly. She acts very similar to me, and is about my height. She doesn't look at all like me, though. The boy named Cato is giant. He's very handsome, with piercing blue eyes and short blonde hair. I'm sure he'll be a threat when the career alliance we'll probably both be in breaks up, but to be honest he looks stupid and not very fast.

District 3 looks smart, but weak.

District 4 comes on and I tense. Hopefully it went okay. I see myself and proudly smile. I volunteer, and my voice sounds powerful. I walk up to the stage looking dangerous. When I watch myself glare at Sephora, I laugh obnoxiously. This causes Sephora to huff loudly. I don't think the Reaping could have gone better. I can practically see the sponsors lining up for me. Roden just looks plain weak.

Districts 5-10 go by without a tribute who looks dangerous.

When the District 11 reaping comes on, I sit with my eyes wide. Never have I ever seen a boy this big from a district other than 1, 2, and 4. Thresh makes the girl tribute next to him look like an ant. I make sure I remember him.

District 12 is also boring. A sixteen year old boy and twelve year old girl are reaped. Neither look like a threat, as usual.

Yawning, I say, "I'm going to go to bed."

"Alrighty! Just be sure to get good sleep. We'll be in the Capitol tomorrow!" Sephora is practically shaking with excitement.

I head off to my room, and I change into comfortable clothes. Opening the covers, I climb into bed.

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** S**

**Please feel free to leave a review! I love constructive criticism, but please be nice!**

**Cato and Marren meet next chapter! There is so much tension between them that it's actually funny!**

**I also wanna tell u this: Marren only acts loving around Starla, Finn, and Cassandra. So don't think she was OOC there! :)**

**The quote at the top is from the song by Zedd called Clarity. It's the song for the whole story. It matches perfectly.**

**Btw I don't own The Hunger Games... sadly. **

**Thanks so much! Next chapter will be soon!**

**-Samie**


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